1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a combination of: (i) a rotator for mixing materials within containers supported by the rotator; (ii) a rocker for repeatedly tilting a tray containing liquid for agitating the liquid and/or washing the liquid over another medium in the tray; and (iii) a means for mounting the containers in many different orientations to produce different mixing actions.
2. Related Art
Rotators are used in laboratories to repeatedly invert tubes and like vessels containing material in order to mix the contained material. Such rotators typically include a drum having holes in it for receiving the tubes and a directly driven, variable speed, gear motor to rotate the drum at various speeds.
Among known machines used in laboratories are machines used to roll tubes, machines used to shake tubes, and machines used to roll and/or tumble tubes in a combination motion.
Rockers are used in laboratories to repeatedly tilt a tray containing a liquid and/or material back and forth to agitate the material and/or wash the material across another medium within the tray. The tray is also typically driven by a variable speed gear motor coupled to a slider crank type mechanism to tilt the tray at various speeds.
A rotator or a rocker is usually driven by a DC motor with speed control obtained through varying the input voltage.
Some machines are capable of either rotating or rocking the material. To convert between a rotator and a rocker, the drum of the rotator is replaced with a platform which holds a tray, or vice versa. When acting as a rocker, the tray is tilted by repeatedly reversing the motor after the platform has tilted through a predetermined arc in each opposite direction. However, this requires accurately gauging the platform orientation and requires undesired motor reversals. Accurately gauging tilt orientation requires costly and complex electrical and/or mechanical systems. Periodic reversal of a motor exposes it to increased failure modes and excessive wear.
The machines of the prior art have not heretofore employed a means for securing a container containing material to be agitated which is capable of mounting the container in may different orientations.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a combined rotator and rocker machine which is capable of retaining containers for rotation and/or rocking in many different orientations and which does not suffer from the drawbacks of the prior art machines.